Timelapse during fall on the Sun River

I had driven 3 hours for just one afternoon and a night of shooting on the Sun River IN the Rocky Mountain Front near Augusta. The weather forecast was supposed to be clear, however the clouds stuck around to stay completely overcast throughout the afternoon and into the evening. And to top it off the wind was gusting to 60+ mph making it almost impossible to get a tripod steady for long exposures....The shoot seemed doomed.

Contemplated heading up to the the Sun River Canyon Cafe for a giant grass fed burger and a cold beer and calling it quits. But I had that feeling, that feeling of luck and being in the right place and the right time. Fighting the urge, I knew that I should just hold out a bit longer. Previously locating the spot I wanted to shoot for the night, I hung out for another hour or so waiting for the post-sunset to hopefully break through. When it did, I was barely ready for it. A tiny glimpse of a huge reflected window of the atmosphere painted by the sky appeared. High whispy clouds pulled by overbearing winds, and saturated with the low angle of the sun, the clouds appeared as a huge pillow of color over the reflective river and quaking aspens.....And then just like that, it was over in a matter of a minute...Later in the evening, I set up for a long night of shooting with with a couple lanterns, a time lapse controller, and a rough idea of the star and moon patterns that night. My hope was that when combined with the right angle and composition, it just might reveal a little bit of the soul of this place.....

An open edition print from this shoot available at the link here:

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One for the Ages...A Northern Lights viewing like none other!

May 23, 2024

Location: Maudlow, MT - Northern Bridger Range, Sixteen Mile Creek

OPEN EDITION

May 11th, 2024 12:35 am

I was extremely excited, and pleasantly surprised to see how many people were able to get out and see this last absolutely unbelievable display of the northern lights! Not only here in Montana but all over North America and the world, it was a sight to behold!

I follow several Aurora Borealis websites to keep an eye on when there are possible chances for a flare up to go out and take some photos. And, along with the excitement of everyone else, it seemed like this was going to be a big one.

I loaded up the camper and all my gear to head north, trying to find a good location that would give me the best possibility of seeing the Northern Lights again, not only from absence of city lights, but also the absence of people and wandering car lights. With a little due-diligence and studying of my trusted-heavily-marked-on and-falling apart Montana Gazetteer maps, I was able to find just what I was looking for out at at the old Maudlow Schoolhouse on 16 Mile Creek. The intact though decrepit school house from 1909 still has the old teeter totters, swings, and basketball hoops still up in the playground. It is such a beautiful place in time, that you can almost hear the children still laughing and playing in the distance.

With no cell service, and no one else around, I could hear the roaring spring waters of 16 mile Creek in the distance as I sat and watched the mind blowing dance of colors throughout the night. It was such an amazing experience, that I really had a hard time keeping myself focused on just taking photos, and ended up just laying down in the grass and watching the dancing show for the rest of the night into the early morning before crawling back in the camper for a couple hours of sleep.

"Hoop Dreams Under the Stars" - Maudlow, MT

"School District 91" Maudlow, MT

"3 Swans" Paradise Valley Photography By Craig Hergert, Yellowstone River - Downtown Bozeman MacKenzie River Pizza

A big remodel and updated artwork at MacKenzie River Pizza in downtown Bozeman

May 23, 2024

MacKenzie River Pizza in downtown Bozeman recently completed a 3 month long remodel on its original downtown location. The new look turned out great! Was able to put up a updated display with all pieces on location available for sale...

"Learning Patience" Smith River 90"x30" Canvas

I am very grateful to the original owners of MacKenzie River Pizza, Christin Cooper, Mark Tache, Don MacKenzie and the subsequent franchising through Glacier Restaurant Group in Whitefish. (The restaurant is now in 29 locations across Montana, Idaho, Washington, North Dakota, South Dakota, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Nevada)

Mark & Christin purchased one of my first large pieces of "Wheat Lines" , a custom hand tinted black duo-tone print of the Bridger Range, for the Bozeman restaurant from my gallery in the Emerson Cultural Center back in 2003. I have been working with them ever since, and am extremely grateful for their continued business over the last 20 years!

Be sure to swing in to the newly remodeled downtown Bozeman location (and the new Belgrade location) next time you are in town!

"Wheat Lines" Bridger Range from Three Forks - 2001

"Canary Springs Under the Northern Lights" Large 45"x55" custom size canvas for client

April 29, 2024

Recently finished installing this large 45"x55" standard format canvas print for a client. They wanted it to fit perfectly above their fireplace, so we made a custom crop of the Canary Springs image from the Mammoth Terrace in Yellowstone National Park in order to include a little bit of the Milky Way that is in the panorama format of the print. Very happy with how it turned out, and more importantly, so were they...

45"x55" version of "Canary Springs Under the Northern Lights"